The US Supreme Court opened the door to a toughening of the Trump administration’s migration policies by issuing two key decisions on Thursday, notably affecting expulsions and the processing of asylum applications. The president will, however, have to avoid any deviation in their application so as not to alienate part of his electorate, according to an analyst.
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One of the decisions allows Donald Trump and his administration to justify themselves, without judicial review, the withdrawal of the temporary protection status granted to certain categories of migrants.
This status was granted by the American administration to nationals forced to leave their country due to a civil war or a natural disaster, for example. It allowed them to legally stay in the United States for a more or less long period.
Members of Congress and those directly affected are speaking out against the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Mullin v. Doe, which ends Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for approximately 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians on June 25, 2026.
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The question raised by political analyst Georges Mercier is whether the administration can withdraw this status at its discretion or whether the courts can intervene to challenge it.
“The Court said no. It is the entire prerogative of the administration if it follows the right procedure,” indicated Mr. Mercier in an interview with QUB radio and television, broadcast simultaneously on 99.5 FM Montreal, Friday.
Georges Mercier, doctoral student in political science and expert on American politics.
Photo provided by Georges Mercier
This decision thus makes possible the expulsion of around 350,000 Haitians and more than 6,000 Syrians, and could also affect nearly a million migrants from around fifteen other countries.
The Trump administration’s second victory at the Supreme Court concerns the pushback of migrants at the border, in order to prevent them from entering the United States and filing for asylum.
Two friends hold signs in front of the United States Supreme Court to denounce the ruling in Mullin v. Doe, which ends the temporary protection status enjoyed by approximately 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians.
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“Because if someone arrived in the territory of the United States, the courts had no choice in hearing their asylum request,” explained the analyst.
These two decisions therefore considerably strengthen the powers of the Trump administration in matters of immigration.
“Let us remember that Trump was elected on a strong mandate to curb immigration,” underlined Mr. Mercier.
No cruelty
If a majority of Americans support better control of illegal immigration, particularly for security reasons, Georges Mercier nevertheless believes that citizens do not support the methods of the Trump administration when they resemble “cruelty”.
The deployment of American immigration police (ICE) in Minneapolis this winter also caused an outcry and damaged the president’s popularity.
Protesters take part in the weekly vigil organized by “Rise and Resist” to honor those affected by the Trump administration’s immigration detention and mass deportation policies. New York, June 4, 2026.
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“An important element is that the last issue of all the issues where Trump remains more or less popular is the management of immigration. The question that arises for him is if he uses these decisions of the Supreme Court which give him more power to continue to constrain immigration in a way that could seem inhumane, perhaps that could cause a botch in the population,” predicted Georges Mercier.
According to him, in order not to offend the electorate, the White House will have to be careful in implementing its migration policies.
“The Americans, yes, want to control immigration, they do not want us to fall into cruelty. And sometimes, we try so hard to make a spectacle of the management of immigration, on Donald Trump’s side, that we border on cruelty, so that’s the challenge that has it,” he added.
Watch the full interview in the video excerpt above.
